Blog | Able Accountants Birmingham

The turn of a new year is the perfect moment to take a look back on the last year and set yourself up for success in this one. These tips will shine a light on to how you can get your business in shape for the new year.

We all make resolutions to change the way we live, but how about the way we work? How about the way our businesses work? Yes, we make decisions about that too, but we often overlook the accounting processes and procedures that form the backbone of our businesses. Why? Our businesses cannot operate without money, so the way we account for it should always improve. The best way to do that is to look over your achievements from last year so you can make good moves in this one.

1. Look Over Your Figures

Take a look through all your sales invoices and make sure all the figures add up correctly. If you run a business that has complex revenue streams this might be a difficult task, but there is an increasing number of high quality software packages that can help you with your accounting. They often include many elements that can aid automation.

2. See Your Accountant

Don’t waste a moment, get your accounts in order now and share the books with your accountant so they can get busy and check them.

If your accountant is any good they’ll be happy to look over your books before the financial year so they can give you a good estimate of how much you will owe in taxes. Having this kind of information as early as possible will help you to be ready with the necessary funds.

3. Review Review Review

Take time to review the last year and answer some questions. Has your business grown? Do your revenues and profits compare favourably with the last year? Are sales up? Are your business expenditures rising? Did you meet all the goals you had in mind for last year?

In answering these questions you are trying to understand your business. If things are looking up, give yourself a round of applause. If not, let’s dig deeper and find out what you can do to improve things. Don’t hesitate to have a chat with your accountant as they may be able to help you to put together a financial plan to realign your aims.

4. Stay Current

Always keep up with the latest tax laws and make sure you meet all deadlines. If you’re not sure about them get in touch with your accountant so you can understand how any changes to regulations can affect the way you do things.

5. Payroll

You should also pay some attention to your internal systems dealing with payroll etc. Again, the right software will make it easier to deal with issues such as bonuses and electronic payments.

6. Accounting Software

Having the right software will make your daily tasks so much easier for you, and you will be able to genuinely revolutionise the way your business works.

7. Goals

What are your goals for the year ahead? It’s easy to just say “make more money”, but what are the things that will help that to become a reality? Do you need to reassess your sales targets? How about revenue streams? Do you need to consider more staff, or doubling down on customer service? Set yourself goals, but make them achievable. There is no point setting yourself goals that will be impossible to achieve as this will only result in frustration.

8. Think: Accounts!

Only with well-managed accounts will you have a business that runs well. Give yourself the right tools and you’ll always be aware of how well your business is doing, meaning you will have the information to make both long-term and daily decisions that will impact performance.

These are just some of the resolutions you should make if you want to run your business more efficiently this year. If you’re still struggling with basic changes you may want to consider at least switching to digital documents, such as receipts. If the scanner is a step too far, using the camera on your phone is a simple way to get a digital copy of your sales receipts and invoices.

Keep to these resolutions and you are sure to see your business grow from strength to strength over the next 12 months.